A wildlife enthusiast captured the hilarious moment two red squirrels stuffed themselves into a tiny feeding box in a wrestling match for food.

Stephen Smallwood, 46, took the photographs of the squabbling siblings in Cockermouth, Cumbria, from his photography hide close to the River Derwent.

The father-of-two feeds the squirrels, which are just over five months old, on a daily basis but has never seen more than one manage to fit into the plastic feeder at any one time.

Stephen, from Little Broughton, Cumbria, said: 'There was just one at first.

A wildlife enthusiast captured the hilarious moment two red squirrels stuffed themselves into a tiny feeding box in a wrestling match for food

Stephen Smallwood, 46, took the photographs of the squabbling siblings in Cockermouth, Cumbria, from his photography hide close to the River Derwent

'It was taking nuts and then hiding them but then another appeared and they started chasing each other.

'Before I knew it they were both trying to get in the box - they were in a right tangle but they got in.

'They are this year's kits and they usually start fighting with each other with them being brothers and sisters.

'You don't usually see them as friendly as that but they both got in and started munching away together.'

Offshore wind farm worker Stephen first became interested in photographing animals while fishing and it has now become a regular hobby.

He uses an old shed as a stealthy hideout to take the snaps on his Canon 7D camera and often gets up close and personal with the rodents.

The dad-of-two feeds the squirrels, which are just over five months old, on a daily basis but has never seen more than one manage to fit into the plastic feeder at any one time

Stephen said: 'They've come right up to my camera and almost touched the lens when I've been in the hide.

'They're very healthy - I photographed one that had some red marks on the white of its belly but when I got close and got a look it was just fighting marks where they've been having a bit of a scuffle.

'We're very proud that we have red squirrels here in Cumbria - I could sit for hours watching them.

'They're English Squirrels, not like these greys that seem to be causing a bit of trouble.

'Personally I've never seen a grey squirrel in Cumbria, I know there are some but I've not seen any.'

Cumbria is a stronghold for red squirrels while the rest of the UK has been taken over by their grey American counterpart.

There are roughly 2.5 million grey squirrels in the UK and only around 140,000 British reds compared to their one-time high of 3.5 million.

Mr Smallwood uses an old shed as a stealthy hideout to take the snaps on his Canon 7D camera and often gets up close and personal with the rodents